Essentials Magazine Essentials Spring 2019 | Page 29

Classroom Engagement
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You are in control. This is
your classroom, you lead
the conversation and man-
age the flow of information.
Take every opportunity to
express your personal mastery of the
topics at hand even if it means telling
the whole room how badly you goofed
on something before you learned how
to do it correctly. Use your immediate
surroundings as reference to make new
or complex ideas relatable. You may be
surprised how well your students relate
and respond positively.
It is common for new educators to
be nervous, questioning themselves
‘what if they ask me something I don’t
know,’ or ‘what if they think I am a liar?’
Well, there is one simple way to answer
both questions: tell the truth. If you
don’t know the answer, tell them you
will look it up and get back to them —
and then deliver on that.
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Tip
Don’t be afraid of
shifting focus to
enhance learning op-
portunities. You will not
reach every student the
same way — some students are good
listeners, others require hands-on
activities. It is easy to keep focus and
attention by presenting actively. What
I mean is:
• Don’t stand still — move around
the classroom and engage with the stu-
dents at their desks.
• Don’t just talk — ask questions
about how the material at hand relates
to their studies.
• Exercise active listening — re-
spond to comments directly and explore
ideas that lead into the next part of the
lesson.
• Use your imagination — cap-
ture their attention. An idea can be
expressed with a sketch; a physical
property can be described with a
demonstration; vocabulary words can
be written down for reinforcement.
• Ask for volunteers — have
students help with demonstrations or
passing out supplies for an exercise.
An object in motion tends to remain
in motion, while an active mind tends to
remain open and interested.
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Tip
Know when to be se-
rious and know when
to have fun. When
it comes to hands-on
learning activities,
you need to set clear
and definable goals that provide a
measurable outcome. Competition is
natural and healthy. Strive to provide
an environment where achieving
more is encouraged but not in a
way that it becomes detrimental to
achieving the learning objectives of
the exercise or becoming devoid of
imagination.
Keep the classroom teacher en-
gaged by sharing lessons and presen-
tations ahead of time. They will be
your best resource in the classroom to
help relate the information to the daily
learning, as well as to assist in tailoring
the presentation to the class. Lastly,
they can be your biggest ally as a disci-
plinarian should the need arise.
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can be brutally honest. They are curious
by nature and can be cavalier in their
self-expressions. To an adult, the idea
of a child telling you exactly what they
think can be daunting. With a little
preparation and confidence however, it
is nothing to fear.
In the four years that I have been
participating in the AIE program at
Lee Elementary, in Tampa, FL, our
biggest hurdle in preparing leaders
for the eight-week, in-class program
is convincing local architects that stu-
dents will not be completely disinter-
ested. I assure you that 9 times out of
10, students are excited to meet you
and ready to listen.
If you are interested in or are con-
sidering launching an AIE program at
any school, here are a few quick tips to
establish a successful student-educator
relationship from the start.
That does not mean
that you shouldn’t be
having fun all the time.
The only time a student
will be less than interest-
ed in anything you have
to say is if they feel no one is listening.
Do yourself a favor and read the comics
or watch a new cartoon. If you want to
know how to make your material fun,
ask students what they find entertaining
and then do your research. Structure the
next lesson to make it relatable. You do
not have to deviate very far from reality
to make fantasy worlds plausible, espe-
cially when communicating the impor-
tance and value of design.
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Be a good sport. That
means knowing how to
act after crossing the
finish line first, even if
Tip
you have never been
there before. You must
only get over the first
hurdle; then the momentum carries
you through. No one starts out as an
expert; being an effective educator is
no different. It takes practice, patience
and continual refinement in order to
keep programs relevant.
Remember that a good attitude
never goes out of style. Trust yourself.
You got this!
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PATRICK THORPE, AIA is an award-win-
ning young architect. He is the 2019
President of the American Institute of
Architects Tampa
Bay & the young-
est individual to
serve that honor
in the chapter’s
99-year history.
Patrick is Secre-
tary for the Tampa
Bay Foundation
for Architecture
& Design and
served as an Advisor to the AIA Florida
Strategic Council. Patrick’s work and contact
information can be found online at www.
allegedlydesign.com.
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Tip
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